1993 Porsche 928 5-speed on 2040-cars

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Porsche's Tesla-fighter could have 600 hp and 300-mile range

Will this be the Ragin' Pajun? Some details on the all-electric "Tesla fighter" from Porsche have been revealed by UK's Car magazine, and, to put it bluntly, the model that has preliminarily been dubbed the 717 will be an absolute beast when it hits the road as early as 2019. With some technological help from parent company Volkswagen, Porsche is planning a model that will have about a 300-mile single-charge range, and a version that may deliver as much as 600 horsepower. The four-door will also be four-wheel-drive, with one electric motor per axle, and four-wheel steering, all for the sake of consistency, Car says. Additionally, unlike the Tesla Model S, with its battery packs running flat along the floor of the vehicle, the 717's battery layout will be far more complex, complete with bulkhead walls and 108 separate battery pouches. Last month, German publication Auto Motor und Sport reported that the Panamera's junior variant, aka the Pajun, was indeed going to be an all-electric affair. Still, beyond a few digital renderings and an estimated single-charge range of 250 miles, few details were revealed.

Translogic 166: Porsche 918 Spyder

In the same month that Porsche announced that its 918 Spyder is sold out, Translogic is getting its first (and likely last) shot at the plug-in hybrid hypercar. Our drive starts off in a very civilized fashion as we tour the 918 Spyder's e-power and hybrid modes, but the fun really starts when the naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V8 engine roars to life in sport and race hybrid modes, augmenting the electric motors with an additional 608 horsepower for a total of 887. We even attempt an impromptu 0-60 test to see if we can match Porsche's gobsmacking official time of 2.5 seconds, but sadly we don't have the room to make a run on its 214-mph top speed. Watch as Translogic host Jonathon Buckley pilots this Porsche around an airstrip in Irvine, CA, with a focus on the many driving modes that set the 918 Spyder apart from anything else in the storied automaker's history. Follow Translogic on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to subscribe to Translogic in iTunes. Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley.

Porsche Australia price cuts in excess of $36,000 irks customers

Have you ever gone to the store, only to become irked after learning that the new [*insert widget here*] that you bought just last week has gone through a price drop? If you're particularly thrifty, even if it's only a couple of bucks, you probably brought in your receipt to see if the store would issue you a credit for the difference. Now, imagine that the widget in question isn't a minor purchase, it's a Porsche - and the price drop isn't just a few bucks - it's thousands.
That's the unhappy scenario that recently faced a number of Australian luxury car buyers and the uncomfortable conversation awaiting the German automaker. According to GoAuto, Porsche Australia recently whacked up to $36,000 off the price of its models in order to jumpstart sales Down Under - the Panamera range itself saw cuts between $5,500 and more than $36,000. The aggressive price cut was a strategy designed to drive sales of more than 3,000 cars locally, a yearly goal originally set for 2018, but now hoped for as early as 2016.
Australia is known for its comparatively high car prices, so the dramatic price cuts were undoubtedly welcome news to potential Porsche shoppers. However, around 50 existing customers were understandably agitated by the reductions because they purchased their cars just before the adjustments took effect. Not only did they stand to lose out on the deals, they also had good reason to fear that their new cars' residual values would take a beating.